With the end of the year just over a day away it concludes a year of endings for me. Last night, I finished reading through my physical Bible again. I have been to this point many times and it's always refreshing looking back all the way through God's Word and His plan for salvation.
Sunday was the end of my three-year term as deacon at church. These years have taught me to better see how my church is run and how decisions we make can have a lasting impact on many people. It has not always been easy and I am glad to be finished. However, going back to a regular member will seem strange for a few weeks as well as not knowing more of what's going on at church and my fellow members.
October was the end of using a full trach. I'm completely familiar with a free neck now and feel pretty used to just having the button. Unless it gets bumped, I don't even notice it's their anymore. With being completely dependent on mechanical ventilation, I may have to go back to a trach again sometime. For now though, I can say I ended the year without having one.
This year finally saw the end to working on a new chair. This has taken many years and I'm very thankful to be finished with it. I believe the final solution was a good choice for my needs and is working out quite well. Their are a few things I liked better about my old chair, but I guess having it be completely the same wouldn't be a change!
My legs also ended their complete laziness this year and biked over 15 miles. They still do a lot of just laying out in font of me, but at least they did something for a change this year. I measure the circumference of my arms and legs every four months to see if I'm loosing muscle or staying constant. Both legs grew in the last four months, when doing the bike, than they have in years. Yet another reason I hope to continue biking next year.
The coming year will likely have more beginnings and ends as the days go on. The quad life has many unexpected turns, but I know God is in control of it all. I pray your year will go well and I plan to continue regular entries here, and possibly elsewhere.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Winter Thunderstorm
It has been a calm week in the quad life. After four visits, my dentist finally finished work on my tooth. Thankfully it hasn't been too much of a problem in using my mouth stick. With ordering my girlfriend's Christmas present, I also finished Christmas shopping for the year. It was once again all
done online with no stores to visit.
Winter officially started two days, but it still doesn't look like it. A thunderstorm just went through with pouring rain and small pieces of hail. Two days before Christmas I would expect any precipitation to be either snow or ice, not something to remind me of summer. I will gladly continue with warm temps. Now that winter is here, it means spring is coming next!
My Christmas train tree added a few new ornaments this year. They are hard to find, but mom does manage to get them.
The two big web projects from this year are almost complete. For the first time in months I had free time while sitting to do other work. Getting caught up on paperwork wasn't fun, but it needed to be done. I may have more long-term work coming again, but at least these will be finished.
With work slowing down and the end of my term at church complete, I started taking the School of Biblical Evangelism. It's a course on evangelism in the modern world through an organization called Living Waters. I've been looking forward to having time to take it and so far it has been interesting.
That's all for this week. Have a Merry Christmas!
Winter officially started two days, but it still doesn't look like it. A thunderstorm just went through with pouring rain and small pieces of hail. Two days before Christmas I would expect any precipitation to be either snow or ice, not something to remind me of summer. I will gladly continue with warm temps. Now that winter is here, it means spring is coming next!
My Christmas train tree added a few new ornaments this year. They are hard to find, but mom does manage to get them.
The two big web projects from this year are almost complete. For the first time in months I had free time while sitting to do other work. Getting caught up on paperwork wasn't fun, but it needed to be done. I may have more long-term work coming again, but at least these will be finished.
With work slowing down and the end of my term at church complete, I started taking the School of Biblical Evangelism. It's a course on evangelism in the modern world through an organization called Living Waters. I've been looking forward to having time to take it and so far it has been interesting.
That's all for this week. Have a Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 14, 2015
Christmas Season
This weekend was a soggy one in Iowa. By Sunday evening, we had received two inches of rain with more coming down. The weather has been unusually warm for late fall, and I am very glad to see it stay. Even though it doesn't feel like it, Christmas is less than two weeks away.
Last night at church was our annual candlelight service. We have a service primarily of music sung Silent Night by candlelight. In the picture, I'm a couple feet to the right of the photographer, nicely out of view. It is a favorite service for many members of our church and visitors.
by the congregation, choir, praise team, and solos by different members. At the end, everyone sings
Singing praise to God for the gift of His son is a part of this season I enjoy. We can easily get distracted by getting gifts for those around us and forget the real gift we have all been given.
If you're reading this and don't know God's gift of Jesus, I encourage you to stop and investigate. In Exodus 20, God gave His commands to follow and has written them on our hearts. They may seem simple, but I know I've broken all of them at some point. Jesus said that all have sinned and fallen short of His glory. We are all deserving of eternal punishment for breaking these commands.
What we celebrate is the release from what we deserve. With Christ's birth, and sacrifice, we can have everlasting life in Him. Repenting of our sins and trusting alone in our Savior is the gift of salvation.
Living the quad life is difficult, but it is nothing compared to the glory to come. In this season, remember to keep Christ in Christmas as the reason we celebrate. For unto us a child is born, He is Christ the Lord.
Last night at church was our annual candlelight service. We have a service primarily of music sung Silent Night by candlelight. In the picture, I'm a couple feet to the right of the photographer, nicely out of view. It is a favorite service for many members of our church and visitors.
Singing praise to God for the gift of His son is a part of this season I enjoy. We can easily get distracted by getting gifts for those around us and forget the real gift we have all been given.
If you're reading this and don't know God's gift of Jesus, I encourage you to stop and investigate. In Exodus 20, God gave His commands to follow and has written them on our hearts. They may seem simple, but I know I've broken all of them at some point. Jesus said that all have sinned and fallen short of His glory. We are all deserving of eternal punishment for breaking these commands.
What we celebrate is the release from what we deserve. With Christ's birth, and sacrifice, we can have everlasting life in Him. Repenting of our sins and trusting alone in our Savior is the gift of salvation.
Living the quad life is difficult, but it is nothing compared to the glory to come. In this season, remember to keep Christ in Christmas as the reason we celebrate. For unto us a child is born, He is Christ the Lord.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Fumbling Funding
If you're a fan of sports, then stop reading now. The past few weeks in Iowa have greatly confirmed why I detest sports in general.
Apparently the football team at Iowa State University (ISU) hasn't been doing well. Therefore, the coach was fired in order for improvement. However, along with being let go, he was paid $4.5 million to finish his contract. Less than a week later, a replacement was hired for $2 million for his first year.
In the time of less than a week, the school has agreed to pay $6.5 million for one position.This isn't even anything to do with teaching academics to students. I can guarantee the instructors don't get a seven-figure salary every year. This is entirely for nothing other than entertainment and bragging rights.
How many students' tuition does it take to cover this cost? Every year we hear abut increasing cost of higher education and students taking on more debt. Guess what, I found a place money can be saved! If you have to have the job, why not at least make it something like $100,00 or something close? The worst part, this isn't the only sport at ISU.
I can't begin to guess what all sports they have, but each one has multiple staff members with salaries. I don't dare to Google what these coaches receive, but I would not be surprised if they added up to several more million per year.
Iowa has two major universities as well as smaller state supported schools with sports. Looking to the all the universities in the country, how many billions of dollars are being spent just on coaching salaries? I can only imagine what could be done if these funds were spent on education instead, or not even added on to tuition
When I went to college, my school didn't have any sports. My classmates and I received an education that was respected by the community. A few years ago they started having sport teams. It was announced early this year that my college will be closing in June 2016 due to too much debt.
Maybe if I wasn't living the quad life I would better understand how this spending makes sense. For now though, it just solidifies why I don't support or follow any such activity.
Apparently the football team at Iowa State University (ISU) hasn't been doing well. Therefore, the coach was fired in order for improvement. However, along with being let go, he was paid $4.5 million to finish his contract. Less than a week later, a replacement was hired for $2 million for his first year.
In the time of less than a week, the school has agreed to pay $6.5 million for one position.This isn't even anything to do with teaching academics to students. I can guarantee the instructors don't get a seven-figure salary every year. This is entirely for nothing other than entertainment and bragging rights.
How many students' tuition does it take to cover this cost? Every year we hear abut increasing cost of higher education and students taking on more debt. Guess what, I found a place money can be saved! If you have to have the job, why not at least make it something like $100,00 or something close? The worst part, this isn't the only sport at ISU.
I can't begin to guess what all sports they have, but each one has multiple staff members with salaries. I don't dare to Google what these coaches receive, but I would not be surprised if they added up to several more million per year.
Iowa has two major universities as well as smaller state supported schools with sports. Looking to the all the universities in the country, how many billions of dollars are being spent just on coaching salaries? I can only imagine what could be done if these funds were spent on education instead, or not even added on to tuition
When I went to college, my school didn't have any sports. My classmates and I received an education that was respected by the community. A few years ago they started having sport teams. It was announced early this year that my college will be closing in June 2016 due to too much debt.
Maybe if I wasn't living the quad life I would better understand how this spending makes sense. For now though, it just solidifies why I don't support or follow any such activity.
Monday, November 30, 2015
Thankful 15
Last week, the United States stopped for our annual day of giving thanks. Some people were thankful to stand in a line to get bargains. but many observed the day for its intended purpose. When we stop and think, there are many reasons we can give thanks. Since we are nearing the end of 2015, I thought I would find 15 reasons to be thankful. In no particular order, they are:
 |
| Thankful for birthday gifts. |
- The sacrifice of God's Son for the forgiveness of my sins.
- Parents that help me with every part of life.
- Caregivers that also help me with everything and give my parents rest.
- Living in a country where I can freely worship God as a Christian.
- A warm home to live in outside of a care facility.
- Good health, at least for a guy who isn't breathing independently and has multiple holes in his butt.
- Being able to do at least some work
- Technology that allows me to communicate with people wherever they live.
- Wheelchair that functions well and allows me to get out and be active
- Diaphragm pacemaker (and vent) that have provided me air for so many years.
- Living at a time where I can access most places I want to go and participate in the community.
- Friends that I can easily talk to and share absolutely everything I'm going through.
- Having a reliable vehicle that allows me to easily travel anywhere I need to go.
- Worshiping in an active church where I am able to serve God.
- Technology that allows my body to do more than I expected.
- Another year of experiencing God's blessings.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Snow Day
It is not uncommon for Iowa to have received our first snow by this time of the year. The annual occurrence came this past Friday. However, it wasn't the usual light snowfall that may just accumulate in the grass. No, this was a real abrupt welcome to winter.
Some parts of Iowa received 14" of snow, with a few locations only getting a dusting. We were in the 5"-7" range of accumulation. That's a good amount for the first snow of the season, but not anything extreme. The most challenging part of this storm was the roads.
Early Thursday morning, my parents left for Minneapolis for my dad's work. They had planned to watch trains afterword and get back home sometime on Saturday. With the weather predictions though, they started back from Wisconsin in early afternoon.
At first the snow wasn't bad and stopped a few times. Unfortunately, the closer to home they came, the worse road conditions became. Finally, about 19 miles from home, they couldn't progress any further and stopped for the night at my grandmother's house. My caregiver and I assured them we were fine and the night nurse would make it.
However, less than two hours later, my night assistant called that the main roads hadn't been treated and she couldn't make it. Therefore, it was down to just the current helper and I. Earlier in the day, my primary day assistant and I had talked about possible plans in case everyone was snowed in. Since she lives only a few blocks away, she was able to make it to my house to help.
Throughout the night then, my two caregivers switched off letting one rest while the other was responsible for me. This is the first time I have been at home with a nurse unable to come due to weather and my parents gone. I'm very thankful it worked out and that I've been given caring people that are willing to do whatever is needed.
Unexpected times in the quad life can require thinking of new solutions. I can see God had everything ready to easily work out and I just needed to follow His plan. Hopefully this is the only time for a major storm, but it's unlikely. When the next one comes though, I know it has already been planned.
Some parts of Iowa received 14" of snow, with a few locations only getting a dusting. We were in the 5"-7" range of accumulation. That's a good amount for the first snow of the season, but not anything extreme. The most challenging part of this storm was the roads.
Early Thursday morning, my parents left for Minneapolis for my dad's work. They had planned to watch trains afterword and get back home sometime on Saturday. With the weather predictions though, they started back from Wisconsin in early afternoon.
At first the snow wasn't bad and stopped a few times. Unfortunately, the closer to home they came, the worse road conditions became. Finally, about 19 miles from home, they couldn't progress any further and stopped for the night at my grandmother's house. My caregiver and I assured them we were fine and the night nurse would make it.
However, less than two hours later, my night assistant called that the main roads hadn't been treated and she couldn't make it. Therefore, it was down to just the current helper and I. Earlier in the day, my primary day assistant and I had talked about possible plans in case everyone was snowed in. Since she lives only a few blocks away, she was able to make it to my house to help.
Throughout the night then, my two caregivers switched off letting one rest while the other was responsible for me. This is the first time I have been at home with a nurse unable to come due to weather and my parents gone. I'm very thankful it worked out and that I've been given caring people that are willing to do whatever is needed.
Unexpected times in the quad life can require thinking of new solutions. I can see God had everything ready to easily work out and I just needed to follow His plan. Hopefully this is the only time for a major storm, but it's unlikely. When the next one comes though, I know it has already been planned.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Planet Earth
A few years ago, the Discovery Channel had a series called Earth. I have seen it before, but I put the series on my list for Netflix. The first DVD came last week and I watched the initial three episodes.
The high definition video really makes you feel like you are seeing different areas of the world through your own eyes. As each show focuses on one particular area or theme, you get to see the complexity of nature and the beauty of creation. As a Christian, I marvel at God's creative work and the world He has given us.
Of course the narrator attributes everything to occurring slowly over millions of years and just being a byproduct of chance. Looking at the world from a Biblical standpoint, I see stark evidence of the flood in Noah's day and the results being displayed in geology.
In one show, we're told how the Colorado River slowly carved out the Grand Canyon, but it's not today. As was evident after the Mount Saint Helen's eruption, a release of a lot of water can easily create a canyon in just a few hours. The Grand Canyon is a result of this with water collecting as the flood subsided.
With all the beauty of the earth, a lot of it is also ugly and cruel. Another scene showed wild dogs hunting prey and devouring their catch. Thanks to the entrance of sin, our paradise was lost and along with its remaining elegance, much pain exists.
As you go around your part of the planet, look for special parts of creation that God has given us to enjoy. It can be a challenge at times, but it is always there. Living the quad life often forces me to have to go slower than I would like, but it gives opportunity to look and see the world around me in its majesty and malignant.
The high definition video really makes you feel like you are seeing different areas of the world through your own eyes. As each show focuses on one particular area or theme, you get to see the complexity of nature and the beauty of creation. As a Christian, I marvel at God's creative work and the world He has given us.
Of course the narrator attributes everything to occurring slowly over millions of years and just being a byproduct of chance. Looking at the world from a Biblical standpoint, I see stark evidence of the flood in Noah's day and the results being displayed in geology.
In one show, we're told how the Colorado River slowly carved out the Grand Canyon, but it's not today. As was evident after the Mount Saint Helen's eruption, a release of a lot of water can easily create a canyon in just a few hours. The Grand Canyon is a result of this with water collecting as the flood subsided.
With all the beauty of the earth, a lot of it is also ugly and cruel. Another scene showed wild dogs hunting prey and devouring their catch. Thanks to the entrance of sin, our paradise was lost and along with its remaining elegance, much pain exists.
As you go around your part of the planet, look for special parts of creation that God has given us to enjoy. It can be a challenge at times, but it is always there. Living the quad life often forces me to have to go slower than I would like, but it gives opportunity to look and see the world around me in its majesty and malignant.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)